Jak and Daxter: The Curse of Misty Island
by RexRock
Summary: [NOW NOVELIZED AND BROKEN DOWN] Two weeks after the main ending for The Precursor Legacy, an 'unidentifiable object' from Misty Island caused an ambush in Sandover Village, and it's now up to Jak and Daxter to go over there and check it ou
1. A Night of Ambition

-AUTHOR NOTES-

So, yeah, this ended up being the first Jak and Daxter story I ever wrote, all the way back in the summer of 2002, when I had no idea about what Jak II would have been like. So what's it doing here now? I just wanted to convert it to story format due to DA's new policy, as well as breaking it down into smaller, easier-to-read chunks.

After looking back on this, I have thoughts on wondering if I could link Yolanda, Bubba and Olga into any possible Jak 3 related fiction I could write in the future. But we'll see about that as time goes on.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it, all them months ago.

Peace out,

-Rexy-

---

_Two weeks ago, two young men discovered the Precursor Legacy. Though much different in appearance, they have shared great qualities from each other. The power of Dark Eco showed them their weaknesses, a threat to the land, and a change for one of the young men. On the other hand the power of White Eco was a benefit, showing them their strengths, clearing the threat, and now all of those alive today wish to seek it. Now, the Dark Eco lives in one place and one place only, and this means that a new adventure will seep out from the surface…_  
  
-_Fan Fiction presents-_  
  
-A fanfic written by RexRock-  
  
**JAK AND DAXTER  
  
The Curse of Misty Island**™

---

_It all started when a surprising event took place within the world they live in. A way to unlock… the mysterious gate…_  
  
The scene opens up at the tops of Gol and Maia's Citadel, located in the Northern regions of the world. There stood Samos, the Green Sage, and his rather not-so-green daughter Keira. They both stood over the barriers, looking out for their heroes. Samos suddenly stopped and made a walk towards a seal nearby.  
"If only if we have enough power cells to open the gate…" he sighed to himself.  
"Awww, don't worry father", Keira smiled with optimism. "I'm sure that Jak and Daxter will bring them here. No doubts about it."  
The old green sage started to look down, and then he slowly turned around, facing his offspring.  
"But… what if this requires 200 of those to open the gate? Surely there isn't enough in this world to-"  
"Stop panicking!" she shouted back. "You know that there's only 100 slots to open the door anyhow. Be positive, father."  
Samos resorted with a sigh. "Fine, I will…"  
"Besides, it looks like the boys are back."  
They both looked down a hole in the tower, and saw two figures, coming up there, travelling on a golden platform. Immediately, Keira started smiling. Samos, however, seemed to twist his beard with suspicions in his mind. Finally, the platform came to a stop, and they looked ahead, into the eyes… of Jak and Daxter.  
"Hi guys!" Keira greeted them both.  
"KEIRA!!!!!" exclaimed Daxter with his eyes widened.  
No longer than he said that, Daxter immediately made a flying leap into her chest. She staggered a bit, but she soon regained balance. This leaves her to look down at the furry otzel – half otter half weasel – with uttermost… disgust.  
"NEXT TIME DON'T DO THAT!!!" she screamed out to the ottsel.  
"Do what?"  
"Jumping onto me like that! You know better, right?"  
"Well can I at least organize a date tonight? I got it all set up in a luxury restaurant in Rock Village, and it'll be a perfect night." He then started singing almost out-of tune. "_Just the two of us, me and Keira in the sky, just the two of us, you and-"_  
But just before he finished singing… he was tossed off her lap, and landed on his back, causing a minor crease in his tail.  
"Hey, what's the big idea?" he frowned while straightening his tail.  
"Sorry Dax, but you know well that I'm more suited for Jak."  
As she goes up to him, they both take their stances. They placed a hand on each other's shoulders, and leant in towards each other. The lips were about to touch, when…  
"Oi you two!" Samos exclaimed from the gate. "I think it's time we finally got around to opening that door!"  
"Oh yeah…" Daxter sighed with a more casual expression. "Whew, thanks for stopping the lovebirds, Sam."  
Back with Jak and Keira, they both ended up shrugging and each other. He made a jog towards his friend, and they soon stepped towards the barrier.  
"Have you got everything?" asked the Sage.  
Daxter folded his arms with a confident look. "Of course we have a hundred power cells Sam, where's your self esteem?"  
Within no time at all, the power cells started to float out of Jak's pockets – now how everything can fit in there I have no idea - and onto the door. A second later, it swung open in front of them, showing a bright white glow emerging.  
"Crikey, of all of White Eco…" whispered Samos with widened eyes.  
"WHOA!!!!!" Daxter exclaimed excitedly as he ran towards the door. "Now I'm really gonna be changed back in no time!!!"  
Keira gave out a deep gasp. "Daxter, wait!"  
But it was too late. He already stormed through the door, expecting a transformation back. Daxter forced himself as he struggled against the white light, looking for its source. As its brightness started to sting his eyes, he placed his paws right out in front of them with hope for blocking them. And then… he felt something.  
"I felt something", he pondered.  
With one paw covering his eyes and another one free, he reached out in front of him, and that was where he felt a grasp with a strange long object.  
"Hmmm…" he started smiling. "Difficult, yes, very difficult… hmmm… feels like some strange metal sausage… with a foghorn at one end? Exactly how can that produce the white light? Hmmm… c'mere!"  
Within no time at all he made a grasp for the object, and lifted it high… and then, the light stopped flashing. He released the grip on the hand over the eyes, and saw himself… home sweet home. He looked down at himself, and there he was, in an open drawer, with some old clothes about to fall out. And then he looked in his hand, and there he saw… a flashlight shaped like a staff's handle and a golden-coned end. As he looked in the reflection of the staff, he saw himself wearing a baby sock for a nightcap, and to his right, he saw his best friend Jak, tucked up in bed.  
"I should have known that it was only a dream", he muttered to himself. "Oh well, never mind."  
He climbed out from the drawers, and tiptoed through the pile of junk food remains on the floor – looks like Daxter's supper from the previous night – and sneaked his way over to Jak's bed. A key was seen hanging. From there he took the key and made his way to the front door. With caution he managed to unlock it and step out into the darkened streets of Sandover Village. Course, that was of little interest to him… what was though was the rocky path leading down to Sentinel Beach. He made his way down two steps at a time, and sat down, leaning his head on a rock. A small hermit crab came nearby.  
"Hey Crabby", he greeted the creature. "Have you been wondering what's behind the portal too?"  
The crab came towards him, and looked up with their eyes meeting together.  
"Well, do you at least know where the citadel is? There's a portal there that I'm puzzling about. It's been there for the past few days… one time I thought there really was White Eco in there, and another night there was a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle. And tonight I came across… my own SparkBeam™ torch. You got any ideas?"  
There was no response.  
"Course, you have to know about it when you go there", he nodded. "Have you ever been to-"  
Before he could say anything else, the crab used one of his pincers to tightly squeeze onto Daxter's tail!  
"OW!!!!!!!!!!!" he moaned with pain as he pulled the tail away. "Fine, don't bother listening to me! I'll have you for tea tonight, just like I did with another crab yesterday!"  
"You ate crab the other day?!?" the crab said with an aggressive voice. "So THAT'S where my sister went!!!"  
From there, the crab made a run away from Daxter, crying his heart out. All he could do is lower his head and shake it in disgust.  
"Stupid crab, always blubbering like a baby…" he started, before pausing. "Wait a minute… it spoke? Hmmm…" He gave out an agitated sigh. "That must be Samos on the Precursucchino again."  
  
---  
  
At the other side of the village was another beach, only this time two islands can be seen on the horizon. The one on the right is the beautiful shoreline area known as Geyser Rock, but our attention is on the one on the left – Misty Island. Thunder shook above it, as a disaster started to befall.  
"Olga, hurry up! The lurkers are catching up!"  
Behind one of the rocks on the shore came out a tall girl, with skin of a light fuchsia, summer clothes, a funny green beret and a crimson cloak, and with eyes coloured blue and with shoulder length blonde hair. After a few seconds she managed to grab the hands of a smaller girl, with black hair, a bright white t-shirt, and a pleated powder blue skirt. They started running again, and sooner or later, from the same rocks came a herd of powerful lurkers, all with their distinguishable purple fur. The chase continued as they headed into an open temple area.  
"Yolanda, help me! I can't run any further! I'm a sacrifice!" Olga cried out in a Haiku fashion.  
"No you're not, as I've got you covered!"  
They stormed through the doors of the temple, and immediately ran up the stairs to their left. That was where they saw a risky choice to take from – Dark Eco. They quickly made their way down towards the pool. The lurkers soon came to the edge.  
"Where do you think they went?" one of them asked the other.  
"I dunno, maybe they got killed in the Dark Eco."  
"What about Jak and Daxter? The latter survived when he went down there, didn't he?"  
"I know that, but the two girls looked absolutely skill-less. C'mon guys, let's go."  
The lurkers soon left the pool. Underneath the kerb surrounding it, Yolanda hid herself tightly between there and the surface of the Eco. With caution she jumped up and onto the surface.  
"Okay Olga, it's safe to come out now."  
No response.  
"Olga? Hey, where are you?"  
"Uh, I need your help!" she screamed. "I can't reach from under here… oh yeah, I still can."  
She quickly leant over the side of the pool, ready to catch her hand in the dark shadows. Then it felt her.  
"I have got your hand!" she spoke with optimism. "Now can you go pull me up? I'm losing my grip!"  
"Okay!"  
She carefully tried to pull her out from the pool… but as her hand came into the light, she saw something peculiar in her. Her skin suddenly turned white, as she saw that her hand was holding… a wing. A blue wing. It twitched its feathers up and down. She realized, that she had her hands held… onto a Flut-Flut.

---

A set of fresh deep footprints was seen in the sandy area leading back up to the village. At this stage, the sun was only just seen as a red line among the horizon. The front door in one of the houses was now left open, bringing a cool draft inside. As we go into the room, we see the room almost exactly as it was when we left it. Daxter remained inside his open drawer, lying down, and facing the ceiling. With eyes wide open.  
"Just… what… can it… be…?" he muttered to himself. "Gotta… see… the… portal…" He turned over with his back against the doorway. "But… I can't get there yet because we don't have all the Power Cells…" He then sat right up. "Exactly… where… can them last ten be?"  
He took a torn jumper from the floor, and wrapped himself up inside it. As he leant back down, he tried his best to engage himself in thoughts, but he felt his body relaxing. His breathing started to become lighter, his eyes suddenly started to close, and his mind began to go blank. From there, he suddenly managed to drift off.  
  
----------------  
  
Back outside on the streets of the village, all still remained as silent as ever. However, something else can be seen on the horizon. A small spec of light appeared to come from the direction of the tallest point on Misty Island… but it didn't form a beam across the village. Instead, it made a sudden stop in the Village Square. It started to glow brighter… and brighter… and brighter… until it finally struck down as a large beam in the middle of the square, causing an echoing boom.  
  
----------------  
  
Daxter awoke with a start and a squeal, as well as seeing the jumper covered in sweat.  
"Crikey, now the thing in the door was a high tech laser beam coming towards the village!" He remained in silence for a while, before a boom was heard from outside. "Or maybe… it wasn't?"  
Having heard that, he quickly leapt out from his bed and headed towards the front door. As he stepped out, all he saw in the beam… was a shadow. A peculiar looking shadow. It had long pointed ears, a long pointed goatee and curved hair. Two small brightly coloured eyes can be seen in there. And sorcerer-like clothes can be seen through the shadow… well maybe a cloak, but you get the idea.  
"Talk about an RPG character lookalike!" Daxter exclaimed.  
Within time, the figure raised himself into the air, and generated something into his hands. All that Daxter could do was look up and see what he's trying to do… and then hide inside a well in the square. He took a slight peek from his hiding place, and saw what it was intending of doing. And then, it struck. It sent out simultaneous light beams, illuminating the houses one by one. They went in the light, and after the light faded… they vanished!  
"WHAT?!?!? This world's gone mad!!!!!!"  
Without hesitation he made a jump out of the well and towards a hut near the fisherman's port. He tried to make a reach for the door knob, but another beam went down in front of him before he can even touch it. From there that hut vanished with some of the others on the same street.  
"Damn, NOT JAK'S UNCLE!!!!!!!"  
He started bouncing up and down in frustration as he continued to look around for somewhere to go. Then he saw it… a wooden bridge. It lead to a small island nearby, with a tall hut. And that one, as he knew it, belonged to Samos. He immediately made a run towards it, but before he could do anything… a beam attacked it, cutting one end off, and it was sent hanging on the side of the cliff like a ladder. He looked down even more, and saw piranhas swimming in the water.  
"Oh great, now I can't get across… not even by swimming… I HATE TO GET MY FUR WET!!!!!!"  
The figure came closer and closer to him as he tried to take cover. He ran all the way across to Oracle, making flying leaps across the rocks on the way there, until… he stopped at the idol's feet.  
"Oh great and metallic one," he started praying, "can you help me get rid of this mess with that maniac back at the village square?"  
"I'm sorry Daxter, but I do not have the power to deal with it right now", said the Oracle in a deep and upset tone. "Please come back when you have all 100 Power Cells."  
"BUGGER!!!!!!!!"  
It was all too late. The figure came towards him, and encircled him like a shadow creeping up his spine. He hid behind Oracle, looking for support, and then it struck him – the beam finally hit him. As the white light overtook his eyes, he saw the figure. The colours of the figure came into view as he finally saw him for what he is.  
Gol has come back.

---

A bright sunrise shone over Sandover Village on a beautiful Thursday morning. The market stands in the centre of town would have been active by now, but they were just as quiet as the breeze over the town. A pile of rubble from the mass destruction last night remained as still on the floor as ever. The tall grass remained blowing in the wind, and as one patch blew, we saw a set of strong footprints in the ground. And that was at where was meant to be one end of the bridge leading to the Green Sage's hut. On the other side of the piranha-infested channel, a deeper set of footprints were seen, followed by another trail leading to the stone steps… which weren't cast back. Once inside, Samos was sitting in a far corner, looking at a still unconscious Daxter on the sofa. Jak was here too, watching over his shoulder.  
"Uh, Samos…" he asked the sage in a sweet male voice.  
"Yeah?"  
"I may feel a bit stupid when I say this, but… you think he collapsed like the rubble in the Village Square?"  
"I'm a bit unsure about this collapsing theory. To be honest, I think the energy of the particles have done something else."  
"What do you mean?"  
Samos suddenly turned around, with one end of his predictions for the actions.  
"After looking at some of the absorbed energy particles in Daxter's fur, I can say… that the houses weren't destroyed."  
"But the rubble…" Jak began, but was cut off by Samos bringing one of his hands out in front of his face.  
"I know, but let me explain. The particles seem to have a vast amount of transportation characteristics. This means that the people are not dead, but they are elsewhere in this world."  
"But how can we tell where they are?"  
"Well having seen that Daxter and Oracle managed to survive, they will try and figure out where it came from. The only problem with Oracle was that the light came towards him from behind, so that cancels him out", the Sage growled with anger.  
"I knew there was a catch", blinked Jak, kicking a small green orb across the floor.  
Suddenly, there was a stirring and a slight moaning from the sofa. They both quickly turned in that direction, and saw Daxter starting to stir. He opened one eye… and then came another. And after much hesitation, he sat up from his position, rubbing his forehead back and forth with one of his paws.  
"Ow, I feel like Hell", he moaned with pain.  
Then he finally noticed Jak and Samos staring back at him. Immediately, he placed on a quizzical look on his face.  
"Why are you two looking at me like that?" the ottsel asked them both.  
"Daxter, you've finally come to!" Samos smiled.  
"Eh?"  
"As one of the witnesses for last night's attack on the town, you must have known where the light came from."  
Immediately he leapt off the sofa, and took a different seat on one of Samos's exotic plants.  
"Well lemme think…" he placed his hand on his forehead, trying to think away from his headache. "Ah! I saw a tow beam at the end of the large beam that belted the town, and I can say that it came from… m… mi… mi… misssss… MISTY ISLAND!!!!"  
That caused him to immediately scream around the room, but it didn't quite affect Jak and Samos.  
"Well that's straightforward", smiled Jak. "All we do is take a boat over there and go reclaim the village's inhabitants."  
"What?" Daxter growled. "What are you talking about???"  
"My theories have lead to the particles surrounding your target", Samos nodded lightly with the bird on the log on his head facing the same expression. "They have the energy to transport particles from its target area to its origin, so they're all at Misty Island. Do not panic!"  
"OK…" Daxter growled while folding his arms. "But I thought I made a promise three weeks ago."  
"And what was that?"  
"After falling in that Dark Eco stuff I proclaimed that I am NOT going back to Misty Island… are we?"  
"I'm afraid we have to", frowned Jak, "or else we'll face an empty town for a long time."  
"I can cope with that", sneered the ottsel.  
"And to make it worse, we have no K-E-I-R-A."  
Upon hearing that remark, Daxter's face immediately turned white.  
"No Keira?!?!? Man, I wish she came back to me!!!" he angrily sighed, bringing his arms closer towards the floor. "All right, we'll go to the island, providing that you don't push me in the Dark Eco, therefore turning me into a hermit crab or something stupid."  
"I knew I could count on you boys!" Samos smiled at them. "Your means of transportation is outside what was the Fisherman's hut. Use the boat to get to Misty Island and we'll soon have our people back in no time."  
"Yeah, sure, whatever", leered Daxter.  
So our dynamic duo went down the steps and made a flying leap across to the village square – whoa, how did they do that? – and onto the fisherman's boat, ready to cross the open sea ahead of them, for a thrilling adventure they'd never forget.

---

Back on Misty Island, a dull and cloudy day approached the area. The sunlight was almost totally blocked out, but there was just enough to see the torches go out. Within the area, a black shadow came into view. It stood on four legs, and it seemed to have lots of fur on it. A bandana and jacket can be made out, as well as a tail poking at the back. He came towards a sign outside a large wooden wall.

**"Help wanted"**

His yellow eyes glowed in the darkness, and he looked at the sign a few times. Then he managed to stand upright and open the door. A lot of furry footprints were left behind. The door slowly shut behind him, and all that can be heard over the wooden spikes at the top… was laughing. Idiotic laughing. A laughter that was so manical the whole of the island could hear it.  
  
---  
  
A long tidal wave can be seen approaching the island ahead, and a path of water can also be seen among the surface. As we follow it we come across a boat with a huge fan on it. And riding inside it… hmmm, well I'd rather not tell who they are because you guys are meant to have the smarts, brainiacs!  
"_I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts", _Daxter started singing to himself_._ "_All of them are standing in a row…"_  
"Daxter, can you please stop with the singing now?" growled Jak. "That same song has been driving me mad since we set sail!"  
"Sorry, it's just that I felt a little bored."  
"Well why can't we play I Spy when we travel?"  
Upon hearing that, Daxter's eyes widened. "What, us play I Spy? You've got to be kidding me!!!"  
"Well it was just a suggestion."  
"I'm telling you now, it's a pretty naff suggestion if you ask me", the Ottsel frowned.  
"Never mind, let's try something else…"  
"I know! Chess!"  
Sooner after that screaming of the solution, Jak lowered his head and shook it gently. Another weird thought from the otzel, he thought.  
"We can't play chess because A – I'm driving, and 2 – the pieces will go all over the place."  
"Uh, whoops", Daxter blushed.  
But all of a sudden, the sound of booming thunder was heard in the distance, causing him to jump from his position.  
"AAAARRRRRGGGGH!!!!!! What was that?"  
"Sounds like…" Jak pondered, "a storm…"  
Lightning flashed around them as black clouds suddenly surrounded them. A downfall of rain managed to come near them and hit the water surface at a high velocity. Thunder was heard once again as the wind started to blow faster and faster upon them. That left Jak holding onto the steering wheel and Daxter trying to reach him, but he kept on sliding down towards the fan almost every single time.  
"Daxter, just hold onto something! Quick!"  
And so he did. Upon next sliding down to the fan he held onto its support stand with all four paws and his tail. The current became rougher, and the lightning flashes became more powerful, following by more deafening thunderbolts. On occasion, they even struck down towards the surface, forcing the water to rush down to the bottom of the surface… inside a whirlpool. In no time at all they soon came right up towards one of them.  
"Well, here goes nothing… prepare for the jump Dax!"  
Daxter hung on much tighter as they approached the hazard. Quickly, Jak pulled down on the steering wheel, and the boat was sent rocketing through the air and hovering two feet above the aquatic vortex. The boat's base managed to reach the open sea again just before it touched down. The current became rougher – the water was sent inside the vessel this time, and at one time it completely drenched Daxter from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.  
"JUST WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING NEXT TIME!!!!!!" he shouted with his teeth showing.  
"Sorry", Jak apologized while trying to contain his laughter.  
"I was talking to the stupid current."  
Lightning flashed onto the surface again, and this time another whirlpool was formed. The steering wheel was pressed down again as they both were sent flying into the air and over the hazard. The wind became much harder as it blew at gale force speed, bringing Daxter's fur into a stick-back motion.  
"_Wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything…" _he stopped singing_,_ "too rough for these extremes."  
Another whirlwind came near them, and this time Jak pulled down on the controls… but nothing happened. This meant that the boat was sent flying… into the treacherous swirling danger. Faster and faster they went down towards the bottom, with squeals as loud as they can get them. The force of the water soon became stronger as they continued to hold onto the boat… but it was just too strong, as they slipped away one by one.

-end of part 1-


	2. Searching For Friends

Some time later, a set of torches was seen flying high in a tribe hideout on Misty Island. The flames kept on rising higher and higher as the sunset quickly occurred. A whole group of purple lurkers danced around the flames to a tribal beat around them, around a large totem pole. As we look higher up it… we see Daxter, now unconscious, tied up to it. Among the crowd, a pink lurker came in dressed up in a waitress outfit.  
"Whoa, hello there you sexy mama!" said one of the normal Lurkers. "Mind if we go on a date?"  
The pink lurker retaliated, and took off a bobble in her hair…  
"Just watch who you're talking to!" she spoke with… a male voice, proving that she's a HE! "Just because I'm pink, I wear a maiden's outfit and I have a ponytail doesn't mean that I'm a girl, fat boy!"  
"Well at least I'm still up for an offer", applauded another lurker. "If you're a homosexual, how about we go for a relationship with each other."  
The pink lurker sighed with anger. "For bloomin' 'eck's sake… look here - I didn't come to this tribe just to be part of a flamin' freakshow! All that I know is that I came here for opportunities, yet why do you have to not let me get them?"  
"You do have your opportunities, Bubba", blinked the first lurker.  
"Well it said on the advertisement that I get 400 Precursor Orbs an hour!" he retaliated back. "I get weekends off! And I don't do night shifts!"  
The second regular lurker showed a shadier look about him. "Well you didn't read the small print - it's a contrast to what pink lurkers have to do."  
Bubba then sighed and stomped his feet on the ground. "That's it! I'm outta this damn junkyard! I'll go jump off a cliff!"  
This only left the two other lurkers to laugh at him. Bubba turned back at them with a completely strange and suspicious look stretched right across his very cute and very furry face.  
"What do you think is so funny?" Bubba growled back at the two other lurkers.  
"I don't think you have the guts for things like that!" shouted the first one.  
"All you'd ever do is hide away in some cave somewhere", the second one followed.  
"And besides, there's barely any cliffs around here!"  
"Unless you wanna get fed to the man-eating sharks…"  
"Oi, we won't get eaten by sharks, we're not human!"  
"Sorry."  
As those two started to chat back and forth, all that Bubba could do was bow his head.  
"This is getting strange…" he growled at the pair. "I'd rather leave because of ignorant people like you two!"  
"But you can't do that!" they both cried in unison.  
Bubba brought out a set of sharp pewter claws from his paws. "Oh yes I can."  
In no time at all, he started to push the crowd out of his way, and on occasion he threatened the claws onto their rather small necks. He continued to go through the horde with ease, and finally he reached the large totem pole. He dug his claws into it, and started to climb up carefully. Higher and higher he travelled, and as he looked down, he saw the mob grow into a greater rage than they have ever done before. Sweat started to pour down the side of his face.  
"Get him!" the first lurker commanded.  
"But sir, he's just too high", frowned the second.  
And then, he stopped. He looked over at his hand's position, and he saw it stretched over Daxter's body. He tried to remain still, but he kept on shaking as he continued to look down. Finally, the whole group went towards the totem pole, and charged it down. There was a shaking as Bubba tried to hang on for dear life, but the whole thing started to fall down… towards the wall near it. As it made contact with the wooden spikes, the pole was broken, and the two of them were sent flying over it.  
"What was that for?" the first one asked.  
"I dunno, you asked us to build the fence ages ago!" retaliated the second.  
Over the wall, Daxter managed to gain consciousness, and he looked at the creature ahead of him. His bright yellow eyes and his animalistic mouth immediately made him jump to a conclusion.  
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" he pierced with a deafening scream. "GET AWAY FROM ME LURKER!!!!!!!!!! I DARE YOU!!!!!!!!"  
"Hey calm down, I won't bite", winked Bubba.  
"Why not?"  
"Because I forgot my false teeth this morning."  
"Oh…" Daxter blinked with a shocked look. "Freaky."  
"Man, being a transvestite was hard work", Bubba sighed.  
He stood up on his hind legs, and removed his maiden gown, showing a denim jacket and some acrylic shorts. Then he returned to standing on all fours. He took a bandana out from his pocket and then tied it onto his head, stuffing as much of his long hair as he could.  
"That's nice meeting you here and all…" Daxter smiled, before poking at his chest. "Uh, what's your name?"  
"I'm Bubba… the world's only pink lurker."  
"And I'm Daxter, the world's only human-turned-otzel."  
"Eh?" Bubba showed surprise. "How did you become one?"  
"I just fell into some dark eco a few months ago. And what's with the pink fur?"  
"It's a long story", sighed the lurker.  
"I've got time."  
He then braced himself carefully, as the lurker ahead of him had a tale in his heart, ready to be exposed to him.

---

A normal lurker made a run through the grassy area of the Mountain Pass. By then we see him as Bubba, but with purple fur instead of pink. His pace seemed to be twice as that of the normal speed of an otzel, and that's saying something, isn't it? He continued to run, and then he stormed into the mountain area. He saw a few lava rivers ahead of him, and he begin his journey over them by performing powerful leaps to reach the other side. Shining crystals shone on either side of the cave, and at times he admired himself in the reflection. Finally he reached the other side and popped out at some sort of lake. A lake filled with lava. Some caves were nearby, with a cable car to a mountainous area to the left, and a deep cave with spiders popping out on the right. Around it were mine carts, used for transportation. And he looked under the cliff ahead him, and saw Oracle, who gave a light wink to him.  
"This must be it… I'm at Volcanic Crater!"  
He saw a wrecked bridge ahead of him, leading to a tall hut in the centre of the lake. And that belonged to the Red Sage. He took hold of the railings, and cautiously crossed the bridge, stepping on each individual plank as they appeared, and also being cautious enough to not get one of his legs stuck. Balls of magma were spat out from the surface, causing a light shower of heat onto his fur. Finally, he stepped onto the balcony leading to the hut. Upon stepping inside, he saw the Red Sage, looking down at a photograph of a girl on a mantelpiece.  
"I'm here from the LIP - Lurkers In Purple", smiled Bubba. "I overheard that your wife was missing…"  
"WIFE?!?!?" the Red Sage exclaimed with shock. "Grrr… HOW MANY TIMES TO I HAVE TO TELL THE INSTITUTE ALREADY???? SHE'S MY DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!"  
The shouting made Bubba hide under a table holding wooden barrels, whimpering after hearing him.  
"Sorry", he sighed with a whimper.  
"It's OK, we've had a few problems with that right now."  
"OK, so when were here last recorded movements?"  
"I saw her engaged in conversation with Oracle, and then she climbed up the rocky path leading through the Mountain Pass. I could tell that she was coming home, so I got to making a cup of precursucchino for her, but the next thing I knew… she was gone! I couldn't find her anywhere!"  
Bubba gave off a sophisticated nod. "Right, lemme write that down…"  
He gets out one of his claws, and takes out a sheet of slate from his backpack. He starts to write some brief notes on what the sage said. But then, there was a crash. He looked up, and saw two mysterious figures. Their long ears stuck out, and so did some parts of their torsos. They both started to snicker. And on first sight, he could recognise them. Gol and Maia Acheron. He took some paces back under the table for safety.  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Red Sage", sneered Gol. "I think you'll need us for a bit of help."  
"With that?" smiled the Red Sage. "I'd love to help out with your plans for White Eco."  
"White? HA! Is that all you really care about? You have the right sort of energy to use plans to spread Dark Eco!"  
"But… why?" he asked.  
"No need to explain, we've caught two of the other sages, and they were no match for us!"  
"I'll show you!" the Red Sage growled.  
He looked around him, and saw an open barrel of Red Eco. Immediately, he dipped his hands inside it, and attempted to box them out of their way… but they easily blocked his attacks. He tried again, this time by dipping his whole body in it… and spilling some onto the table with barrels in it, causing them ALL to fall on top of one another! Bubba's hand stuck out from the mess.  
"A lurker?" sighed Maia. "Well, just what we need… a bit of backup for our troubles. Come here!"  
Bubba tried to push itself out from the mess, but he struggled. The Red Sage continued to tackle the others as good as he can… but from one corner, a glowing of Red Eco rushed towards them. Sooner enough, it pushed them out of the window… and down onto a mine cart below.  
"You're pretty good, but we'll meet again", Gol shouted from his position, rubbing his back from the fall.  
"Only this time you won't be a match for us!" followed Maia.  
They jumped onto other minecarts, and headed into a glowing tunnel. The sign above it showed that it lead to the Lava Tube. The sage, however, looked in the direction of the glow of the Eco. He saw Bubba, covered in Red Eco power, and his fur… was now pink, instead of a regular purple.  
"WHAT?!?!?" the Sage shouted. "You took all my Eco! Now you're gonna pay for this, shrimp!"  
"But I saved your life…"  
"No you haven't, you have ended my career!!!!!" He then growled angrily, before coming closer to the lurker. "GET OUT, AND NEVER COME BACK!"  
Within seconds, he was kicked out of the hut, right to the other side of the bridge, onto his chest. He picked himself up, and started walking out of the area.

---

"So that's what happened, ey?" Daxter asked with sorrow. "I have to feel sorry for you, pal."  
"I know. I'm a bit ashamed about this democracy in this world."  
"Yeah, even the citizens back at Sandover Village won't even know an ottsel when they see one."  
"I know…" the lurker frowned. But then he gave out a light smile. "Hey, I know someone who can help us. Someone who can stop Gol and benefit both of us! I want my fur to turn back to its regular color, and you want to…" He paused. "What?"  
"I want to return the people at our village back after last night's trauma, and if we run into some White Eco I shall turn back into a humanoid, like my buddy Jak", nodded Daxter. "Speaking of which, have you seen him? He's got blonde spiky hair, blue tunic, weird hairy feet… actually, scrap that last part."  
"Uh, yeah, I saw him in some cave with a girl with deep pink skin and a flut-flut."  
"I thought I told him not to trust strangers. Oh well, best make a reunion quick!"  
They both started to run down the rocky shores, with Bubba leading the way. Even if he has had a dramatic past, he is here today to help others, and to equalize democracy. But even now it will be extremely difficult to do ninety five million jobs all at once, wouldn't it?

---

A row of torches shone around a glowing cave, giving off a bit of dim light. From this view, three shadows can be seen. One of them was lying down, the other stood still, swaying slightly every few seconds, and the third figure was walking about, carrying objects into their enormously sized hands… no wait, they look like wings. o.O A jug of water was placed onto a nearby wooden table, and the water inside was on the verge of being spilt. The shadows of the standing figures were finally seen in the darkness, as the two young girls who encountered the Dark Eco from the night before. Except that Olga, although remaining some of the qualities in her, looks more like a flut-flut if anything.  
"I still feel unsure", she asked Yolanda. "He'll change me back to human? But he's not a sage…"  
"He doesn't have to be. If I can remember rightly, Jak and his friend Daxter were known for using White Eco to kill off the Dark Sage Gol… or was he killed?"  
"Yeah, that's a strange thought", the flut-flut nodded. "He was trapped in Dark Eco, when we last saw him."  
"Well when I came to see the sunrise this morning I think I saw Gol's shadow far out to Sandover Village."  
"He just can't have been! It may be a lost lurker, can't find his party."  
"I did, I'm telling you!" Yolanda shrieked out loud. "If you don't trust me, then you need to get some common sense."  
"Hmph! I don't think so! If you want something that does, it's the Dark Eco."  
Suddenly, there was a rustling at the far corner.  
"Hold it right there, he's up", nodded Yolanda.  
On the stretcher in one of the darker corners of the room, a hand started to rise. It started to rise, and then it dropped back to the ground. The eyes opened one at a time, showing them of a bright blue colour. It then started to sit up at a gradual pace, and look around the room. Both girls looked in the eyes with suspicion on their faces. As the figure finally stood up and walked to the light, he was finally seen, as Jak.  
"Well, I'm glad you're finally up", Yolanda smiled at him.  
"Uh… who are you guys? And what am I doing here?"  
"A simple answer", started Olga. "You suffered a few problems, throughout your journey."  
"Ignore her", Yolanda blushed. "She has a mad mouth for a haiku poet. Anyhow, you were washed up on the shores of Misty Island, and you ended up with a couple of wounds."  
Jak looked down at his body, and saw a bandage wrapped round his left arm, and there was casting inside one of his sandals.  
"Thanks", he smiled. "If I can be able to repay your favor by… uh… can you tell me about yourselves?"  
"Sure. I'm Yolanda, the daughter of the Red Sage, and this is my best friend Olga."  
"A haiku poet, and a Dark Eco victim, rolled up into one!" she exclaimed with a wide grin.  
Having heard that, Jak couldn't help but smirk slightly.  
"We're here on Misty Island to get away from the troubles at Volcanic Crater", Yolanda sighed. "I don't feel like going back."  
"I wanna be back, as a human very soon. I detest flut-fluts", frowned Olga. "I have a theory, that birdseed and night flying, doesn't really cut."  
"Don't panic, my friend Daxter was a lot like that…" Jak paused, giving him time to look around him. "Speaking of which, where is he?"  
"What does he look like?" Yolanda asked.  
"He's an ottsel… with ginger fur and a cream colored belly."  
"I'm sorry, but I haven't", she frowned.  
Upon hearing that remark, Jak started to panic slightly. "Well if he has drowned out at sea, then this means that I'm without a companion", he frowned while looking down.  
"Why do you say that?" Olga asked. "You look as lonely as heck… or are you that way?"  
"Aside from my girlfriend Keira, who is trapped on this island with the rest of the village citizens, Daxter is the only friend I've got. He may be crazy, but we show respect for each other.  
"Say, didn't I see one?" Olga smiled. "I saw an otzel carried, by a lurker tribe!"  
"WHAT?!?!?" Jak exclaimed with surprise.  
"Don't panic", Yolanda smiled. "Just stay here. Knowing him he'd find a way out of his own mess."  
"Yeah and hopefully, same thing should apply to you too, on your own mission", smiled the flut-flut.  
"And on ours, especially", Yolanda blinked.  
As they spoke, Jak still looked down… but gradually… his head started to lift up high, and he gave off a smile.  
"Well… thank you for your confidence."  
"Awww, shucks!" Yolanda responded with a blush.  
As they continued to speak, two small shadow figures approached the outside area. Their fur were almost eliminated in the moonlight, but all that can be seen is blackness. They stood in a row and looked on at Jak and the two girls.

---

The torches in the cave showed within the glowing of the eyes of two spies waiting outside. During the time, Olga came towards some of the flames and added more oil, increasing their strength. They then blinked and showed themselves, as Daxter and Bubba, ironically glad to see a great friend safe and sound… or maybe it could have been a more different and anonymous reason…?  
"So that blonde haired lass over there…" Daxter blinked with an ear-twitch. "You sure that's the gal who took Jak away from me?"  
"Of course, why else wouldn't he be here?"  
"I can't see him."  
Bubba brought out his hand and pointed towards the left of the entrance. "Look, he's over there, straightening his bedding in the far corner."  
"Like… whoops."  
"Never mind, I won't blame you", Bubba chuckled. "Besides, that girl could be a help for us to restore us to our original forms."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, seeing that her nursing skills are excellent, and her skin is almost identical to the Red Sage's, then…" He paused before bringing his head up to the sky. "BUGGER ME!!!!"  
"Now what?"  
"I should have known… she's the Red Sage's daughter!" He gave out a deep frown. "If only if I realized that I had to risk my life to take her back to Volcanic Crater… then the whole world won't see me as an ugly moron."  
"Well you're one of those people who haven't seen our village Mayor's fashion sense. At least yours is cool."  
"Thanks", the Lurker smiled. "Anyhow, she'd be more than likely to reverse the effects of the Red Eco!"  
"What, by making us meet up with stupid gruesome Gol and marshmallow headed Maia again?"  
"No, she'd hopefully have another way. Anyhow, let's go inside."  
And so they did. The threesome inside managed to take note of the footsteps, and they all turned directly towards the opening of the cavern. Squeals of joy were heard in that direction, as Bubba and Daxter made their run towards them. Jak started smiling at his friend once again, and the two girls looked on at Bubba with a pleasing look. Then they focused on the partner, Bubba in Jak's case, and Daxter in Yolanda's. And it didn't look very pleasing.  
"What's that thing you took with you???" both Jak and Yolanda asked in unison.  
"What, what's the matter?" Olga blinked with shock. "Something is wrong with Bubba? I don't see nothin'."  
"But he's a lurker!" retaliated Jak.  
"So?" Yolanda questioned him.  
"He's… pink!"  
"But he's not part of the tribe!" Daxter shouted towards them.  
"Yeah, even Gol won't accept me as part of his world domination team", Bubba frowned.  
"Besides, he's loyal", smiled Olga. "Last night he washed off something - Dark Eco on me."  
Jak turned to Bubba, who looked up at him with an innocent facial expression on his face. His eyes were larger, and his mouth looked cuter than it ever had done before. Finally, he turned back to the others.  
"All right, we'll keep him", growled Jak, "but as long as he doesn't get us into any trouble."  
"YES!" Daxter smiled with a spring in his step. "I knew I'd count on you!"  
"But not the ottsel!" leered Olga. "He'd give me too many fleas! Toss him out to sea!"  
Yolanda shook her head gently. "But ottsels aren't all about spraying pesticide on them every few minutes. Just look at his size! He should be useful for the impossible areas of the island!"  
"Are you sure about that?" asked Daxter. Because last time I came here I did none of that. All I had to do was sit around on Jak's shoulder while he did all the dirty work against the lurkers."  
"Well it's not gonna be for long, buddy!" Bubba smiled. "Face it, if we want to accomplish our missions on getting your people, getting my old fur color back, transforming a flut-flut to a human and returning a girl to a place far away from here then you'd be the one who'd keep us going all the way! So what do you say Olga? You wanna let him stay or do you wanna die?"  
Olga looked down at Daxter, and he looked on as she too started to ponder about him. Fleas? Well, it could be a bit of a problem, but what kind of benefits could he bring to the group? She thought carefully, until finally… she turned her head to the rest of the group.  
"Fleas can go kill me, but it is a sacrifice, that I want to make", she said while bringing her head down.  
Bubba gave out a light smile. "Well done Olga, that's a wise decision."  
"Great, now all we have to do is to go with the flow", Yolanda chuckled to herself. "But… where can we find some of this transportation energy?"  
"Uh, maybe Gol knows about this?" Jak asked.  
"Hmmm… yes, difficult, very difficult", Daxter spoke in the deepest tone he could pull off, "but how will we get to him?"  
"I have your answer right here!"  
They all gasped at the sound of the voice. Daxter took cover onto Jak's shoulder, and Bubba hid behind Yolanda.  
"Oh flamin' nora", panicked Daxter. "Don't let it be that idiot who tried to kill me off for good last night!"  
A bright light came into the room, and two figures were seen within it. The fivesome looked at them for long enough, and the shadows started to become much clearer. Their structure suddenly made Daxter cower deep into Jak's clothing for his own safety, with only his tail sticking out.  
The bright light surrounding the pair of them started to fade out, as the group of five looked on with a mixture of nervous, determined and irritated expressions on their faces. Within the crowd, Daxter cautiously stuck his head out from Jak's shirt, and managed to see the two figures in person. He now saw, that he and his group stood head to head, with Gol and Maia.  
"OK, Mr. Dark Eco Dork", Daxter started. "What in Pete's sake do you want from us?"  
"Yeah, exactly why did you find us in here?" Yolanda followed on.  
The two evil siblings looked at each other square in the eye, and gave a light nod in their direction. They turned back.  
"It's a funny question you've asked us", sneered Maia. "It'll be more than likely that we will ask you the same thing."  
Bubba raised one of his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"  
"You need to realize, you pathetic weaklings", Gol slated the group, "that we wish to seek for control over this world, with the use of Dark Eco."  
Jak just stood firm and folded his arms. "Well that's barely surprising, isn't it?"  
Upon hearing that, Maia suddenly went pale, she did a small jump in the air, her eyes widened, and she started to sweat slightly.  
"Hmmm… maybe so, but you don't understand exactly what we want to _do_ with the Dark Eco", sighed Gol.  
"Well tell it to us! We have the time to sit down, and listen to you!" smiled Olga with an optimistic look.  
They both looked directly into the group of heroes, and right after a long and dreaded silence… they spoke.  
"Sorry guys", scowled Maia, "but we weren't born to reveal secret plans."  
"Hey! That's not fair!" Daxter shouted towards them. "You told us every bit of the juice of one of your plans when we came in your direction for a way to change me back into a human, and boy we were not amused."  
"Right, you want amusement, do you?" Gol shouted. "Well get this - if you come over and help us, you'll be able to see what we plan to do in this world. It'll be great to have a fair bit of company this time."  
"No damn way José!" Olga retaliated. "If you've thought of taking us, forget about it!"  
Maia brought her hands out, with her fingernails pointing ahead of her. "We'll see about that as soon as you come towards our deadly trap… COME HERE!!!!"  
She lured herself towards the group, where they immediately started to come up with a strategy to escape.  
"Quick Dax", Jak smiled. "Go under her legs!"  
And so he jumped off from Jak's shoulder and made a run under the raunchy costume surrounding Maia. She crouched down and brought her head under her legs, and saw Daxter making a run away from the cave, towards the harbor.  
"That's it! Come back here you lil' runt!" Maia cursed over at him.  
She regained her position… but no sooner than she headed out of the cave, a wind current started to pull her back. She tried to increase her speed, but the gale force soon cancelled it out.  
"What in the world is this thing?" she asked.  
She looked behind her, and to her surprise, she saw Olga, flapping her wings, bringing a gale towards her!  
"Keep on going Olga!" Bubba cheered. "You can do it!"  
"Yeah, this one's ours for the taking!" Yolanda exclaimed.  
"Thank you very much! I like being a flut-flut!" shouted Olga with happiness. "Who needs White Eco?"  
"Haven't you thought about the lurker?" Jak asked.  
"'The lurker' has a name", sighed Bubba. "Besides Jak, now's the time to clear her out of here!"  
"I'll try!"  
Maia was pulled back closer and closer, until she was almost a couple of centimetres from the flut-flut's feet. That's where the plan soon came to practice.  
"NOW!" Bubba shouted.  
Olga soon switched the current the other way, and a quarter of a second from there, Jak leapt up into the air, with fists out, and he did his spin move on her. She was sent soaring out of the cave, and a few seconds later, she landed in the shark infested waters of the sea surrounding the island.  
"Hehe, one down, one to go", smirked Bubba.  
"So, you think you can get away that easy, can you?" said Gol's voice. "Well the same trick won't work on me! Try if you might, but you won't be able to bring me that close."  
Without hesitation, Olga attempted to sweep the wind current back, therefore with hopes of bringing Gol along… but he just stood still and didn't budge! Bubba tried to attack him with his stored Red Eco energy, but not a scratch occurred on him!  
"This is not looking good", blinked Yolanda.  
"I know", Gol snickered. "Fun, isn't it?"  
He leapt up into the air, and lured himself towards Jak. He too jumped up, with his arm bandage falling off, ready to launch a fist into his face… and that's when the action started to move slowly. Bubba started to lower himself down onto the floor, and Olga took cover behind Yolanda, who started gripping onto her hands for tension.  
It was almost too crucial now for Jak and for Gol, as they were both suspended high in the air, ready to make their attack. Olga brought herself a bit further back as she started to cower in the darkness, away from the action. The group realised that one of them will be pinned down within the dying seconds, but which one it will be was yet to be determined. And then it struck - Gol thrusted himself into Jak's stomach, and pushing him into another darkened corner.  
Yolanda gasped. "Oh no… Jak!"  
"Hang in there, buddy!" exclaimed Bubba.  
From his position, all that Jak could do was look up, with his eyes meeting his enemy's. Now one of the hands was gripped firmly onto his collar, and another fist was raised in the air.  
"It would have been nice to see a funeral for you", scowled Gol, "but because of your ignorant manners, you are going down, fuzzhead!"  
It looked like the end was in sight for Jak. He looked up above him, to his right, and two his left, and he saw that there was nothing here that could help him. This made him look square into Gol's eyes, whose fists were starting to glow with the power of Dark Eco inside him. But when all was lost… his head started to shake, and he started to squeal with pain.  
"Get off me, you imbecile!!!" he shouted while repeatedly growling and screaming.  
He raised himself away from Jak, giving him time to escape his clutches and return to the others. This suddenly made Gol rummage around into his hair, for some strange reason. Once he lowered it down slightly, the group were soon surprised. This came by the sight of Daxter, on the very pinnacle of his head, holding with a tight clutch onto his rather  
long ears!  
"Daxter, what are you doing here?" Jak asked. "I thought you ran out of the cave-"  
"I know, but I'll explain later. No time for chit-chat - we need to get outta this dump!"  
No sooner than he said that, Jak and Olga made their escape from the cave. Bubba made a sprint away next, and Yolanda went towards a switch at the back of the room. She flipped it, and immediately ran out. The four soon made a clear exit about fifty yards from the cave, and they soon turned back, facing it.  
"Are you sure that Daxter will escape from the cave alive?" Jak asked.  
"Do not panic Jak!" Olga said while flapping her wings. "He'd use his own way of cunning, to deal with his foes."  
Within no time at all, a few rocks started to fall from the cave's ceiling and crashed down onto the surface. They continued to stack up high, giving off foggy debris around it. All the group could do was watch the demolition. And it soon stopped, with a whole cloud of rock blocking the cave. No sooner than that occurred, Jak looked down at the floor, with a more depressed look on his face.  
"OK sage girl", sulked Bubba, bringing his attention to Yolanda. "What did you do to make him upset?"  
"What, all I did was trap Gol."  
"Yeah, but you had to trap the ottsel as well, didn't you?"  
"Uh, whoops."  
"Whoops is NOT right, you should be ashamed of yourself!"  
This made Yolanda sigh, crouch down, and look out towards the cave, until…  
"The ottsel has a name!" said a voice from ahead.  
"What has happened here? That voice sounds familiar…" Olga gasped. "Daxter is alive!"  
Within the fog, a figure came speeding onto the path, towards the group. Upon seeing it, the foursome started to smile back at it. The figure emerged from the fog, and it turned out to be Daxter!  
"Hi guys!!!!" he shouted while jumping into the air.  
No sooner than he screamed out, he landed back onto Jak's shoulder and gave him the rubbing on the ear.  
"Wow, I can't believe you survived the devastation!" Yolanda smiled.  
"Me neither, but thank green eco for trap doors", the ottsel snickered to himself.  
The girls started to giggle in with each other.  
"Has Gol gone in the blast too?" Jak asked.  
"To be honest, that's a question that won't be answered in a while", shrugged Daxter. "The last time I saw him he was trying to find a way out, and I'm not sure if he's dead or alive."  
"Don't panic Daxter, at least that's one mad moron, clear from this very path."  
But soon after that was heard, there was a scream.  
Jak gave out a gasp. "KEIRA!!!!!"  
"Is this the girlfriend you told us about?" Yolanda asked.  
"Yes, she's one of the villagers captured! We must be close to ending one of the tasks here!"  
"We have to be quick before she gets caught!" Bubba jumped up and down, before calming down. "Well, that's a possibility."  
The two quickly rushed in the direction of Keira's scream. Who knows what they may find as soon as they find her… but even facing away from there, what may have happened to Gol and Maia? Are they still alive? Or are they far away from the world at this minute?

-end of part 2-


	3. The Keira Conspiracy

The steep cliff on the shores of the island looked fragile, as many small rocks fell from the top to the bottom every few seconds. Footprints were seen deep in the sand, and along one of the cliff faces was a series of scratches. As we look up the steep cliffs, we come across our heroes, scaling the cliff - well, Jak and Bubba did all the climbing, Daxter held onto Jak's shoulder and Yolanda rode Olga, who was hovering higher and higher.  
Olga started panting at this stage. "Are we nearly there? Lifting Yolanda's hard work…" she struggled to catch her breath again. "She's too big for me!!!"  
"Relax babe, we're almost there!" smiled Bubba.  
"OK, so that's the ninety-twelfth time you said that since we started scaling this cliff", Daxter growled.  
"Well if that was the case, then this rock face may have suddenly increased in height as soon as we started climbing it", replied Jak with sarcasm.  
"That's one thing I have a doubt about", frowned Yolanda.  
A few minutes passed, and a hand soon passed onto the top of the cliff. Jak and Daxter were first up. They took their balance on the top of the rock, and grabbed hold of Bubba's front paws, therefore pulling him up. Olga soon emerged with Yolanda, and the whole group pulled her off the flut-flut's back, giving her more strength to hover herself up to the top.  
"OK, now where can we find this girl that you mentioned, ey?" Bubba asked.  
A scream was heard in the distance, and was much louder.  
"She is in that cave! Come on, let's go and free her! Another task done!" Olga smiled.  
Within no time at all, they all dashed towards a cave on the right side of the cliff top. Upon entry, they were shrouded in darkness.  
"Lights please", commanded Daxter.  
No sooner than that was said, torches were turned on all around the room. Their crackling flames and scorching light soon brought most of the cave to life. A lightened shadow can be seen in one corner.  
"I can see some blue-green-black hair, a slim waistline, a finely shaped face, and some tall ears", blinked Yolanda. "Can this be this Keira girl?"  
"It definitely looks like it", nodded Jak. "I hope she's okay…"  
Bringing one foot up, he made a light jog towards Keira. She seemed a bit strange, though. Instead of looking cheery towards him, she just stood there, like she was in a trance. He stopped with a skid, and looked directly into her eyes. They stood as still as each other.  
"What are these two doing here?" Bubba asked.  
"Yeah, they seem a bit odd", shrugged Yolanda.  
Finally, there was a peculiar conversation within them.  
"Keira, it's me… what, you're trapped? But… no, it cannot be… no, he can't have done this to you… We'll get you out! Just you wait…"  
During the conversation, the others exchanged glances at each other, and raised a few eyebrows at it.  
"I told you he has a strong relationship towards her", blinked Daxter.  
"No Daxter, not that! How can he tell what she said? She isn't speaking!" Olga said.  
"That's exactly what I was thinking", sighed Yolanda.  
But it was soon stopped. After a few more seconds, Keira ran into the darkness. Jak tried to catch up, but all he could end up running into was a brick wall.  
"Poor Jakkie ran into a wall!" Daxter started laughing. "Now that's what I wanted to see!!!"  
"Shut up Dax", growled Bubba. "You know for sure that things like that are not funny at all, geez louise."  
No sooner than the humor calmed down, Jak emerged from the darkness with a slate print on the right hand side of his cheek. He came towards the group, and stood about half a meter apart from them. It looked like he was trying to hide something from everyone else… but what it was they have no idea. That was, until his mouth opened and he spoke to them all.  
"Guys, remember when Gol said that he wanted to use Dark Eco to take over the world? Jak asked.  
"Yeah?" Daxter responded with twitching ears.  
"Bring in the juice, blondie", Bubba followed.  
"Well I hate to say this to you but…"  
There was silence for a few seconds. Then…  
"Gol has used the Eco in an attempt to brainwash some of the civilians, and that's including Keira!" he exclaimed to the others.

---

A swarm of clouds came circling over the island, and no sooner than they did arrive, a downpour of rain came hurling down to the surface. A cave ahead saw our group come out. Olga stretched her wings to protect Daxter, Yolanda and Bubba from the rain, while Jak immediately started running off down the path. The four of them looked on at him like he was an obese human sitting in a freak show of some sort, with widened eyes on them.  
"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jak cried.  
His call echoed around the rock faces surrounding him, and he soon vanished deep into the rubble. The foursome went down the path he took, and managed to keep up with his footprints, which were beginning to fill up with rain, overflow and even the level of smaller rocks on the path. After a while, they eventually managed to keep up with him, although a lot of water was starting to drip down the side of his face, but it wasn't rainwater.  
"Just give up Jak", sighed Daxter. "We know what she'll be like by now - all cranky and stuff, with that Eco inside-"  
"NO! I don't know how yet, but I have to reverse the effects as soon as I possibly can!"  
"OK then Jakkie," Olga nodded. "Just keep your underpants on, and don't go barmy."  
The rain also tried to put out some of the torches along the path, sizzling them down to nothing more than a wave of smoke coming into the air. Along the way they took one of the still burning torches, and sheltered it under one of Olga's wings, and was shone forwards, almost like a headlight. The rock pile started to clear up, and they were soon back out into the open. But onto the horizon, there was a dark figure, on the other side of a shark-infested lake.  
"Are you sure you want to go onto the other side?" Bubba asked.  
"I know it looks dangerous, but it's a risky choice", nodded Jak.  
He took a few steps back, and made a dash towards the rushing waves of the water, leaving everyone else to stare at him wide-eyed. But as soon as he was about to reach the lake… he stopped, and made a sharp turn to his left. They faced that direction, and they saw it - the A-GraV Zoomer. Daxter and Bubba followed him, and they soon climbed onto it, and started to speed across the waters, over to the figure.  
"OK, I've got one more question here", blinked Yolanda. "Do you think that flut-fluts can actually fly?"  
"It seems pretty tough, but I'm sure I'll handle it", winked Olga. "No biggie at all."  
No sooner than they said that, Yolanda climbed onto Olga's back, and they made a gigantic leap over one part of the lake. As soon as they reached the highest part of their jump, Olga spurted her wings, and flapped them as carefully as she could, performing what seemed more like a glide than flying. Her feet almost seemed to touch the water, and were almost taken down by one of the white sharks swimming nearby.  
"Quick Olga!" Yolanda screamed. "Try and raise your feet a bit higher!"  
"I'm trying my best! Still have to get used to it! Flying sure is tough!"  
She flapped her wings as fast as she could, and within no time at all, she finally hovered herself above the water. And she felt her feet drop… onto stone. She looked down, and saw that she landed safely, and Jak and the others were only a few paces away from them. Yolanda immediately dismounted, and they both walked up the pathway towards the group, and it seemed like there was another surprise lurking around them, for some strange reason.  
"Hoo boy, not again…" Olga blinked on ahead. "What is Keira doing here? She's still infected!"  
"We know, but that isn't exactly what Jak's thinking about right now", sighed Yolanda. "You should speak to him to get any form of answers."  
"Speaking of answers, I think he's got a solution!" Daxter smiled while looking down at a substance from a pocket making his way into one of his own hands. "There's something glowing in his hand, some sort of a light green color…"  
"Uh, Daxter," blinked Yolanda, "that's Green Eco."  
He took the pellet of Eco, and rubbed it deep into Keira's skin. No sooner than that happened, she blinked. A smile started to appear on her face. And she was starting to turn skin pink again. Jak looked on at her with a pleasing expression. And then, she spoke.  
"Wow Jak, thank you for releasing me", she sighed. "Do you think you have an idea on where the other civilians are?"  
"I'm a bit unsure, but we'll be ready for a good enough hunt", Jak smiled in return.  
"Besides, do you think you have enough Green Eco for everyone?"  
"I'm sorry, but it's almost what I had left. Maybe if you can come up with something that will transport the villagers back to Sandover. Your father survived too, so maybe he can help to revive the others."  
"Well, you see the teleportation pad on top of the A-GraV zoomer when you found it?"  
"A teleportation pad? Where?" Bubba asked before looking back at the shores they began on. "Oh, there, whoops."  
"Maybe we can use that to bring everyone back to my hut", Keira smiled. "I think we've got a solution for us. Oh, and by the way, who are the others with you?"  
"Well, they too have suffered from other problems", growled Daxter. "Yolanda wants to stay away from Volcanic Crater until it's a safe environment for her again, not infested by a mad daddy who has no love for pink lurkers. o.O Speaking of which, we have one over here. Bubba ended up with a spill of Red Eco in him, making him what he is today, and we need to figure out how to wash it off from him. And Olga, the flut-flut, was a humanoid at one time, but now she's a haiku-speaking bird."  
"Hmmm…" Keira pondered to herself. "I see your problems. Maybe we should find a settlement for the night and think about it then."  
"You bet!" Jak smiled over at her.  
"Finally we're off, away from this thunderstorm, it's messed up my clothes!" shrieked Olga with disgust.  
So Keira climbed onto the A-GraV Zoomer, with Jak, Daxter and Bubba, and Yolanda mounted onto Olga to ride across the stormy waters. It seems like they were only hours away from returning the villagers back, but little did they know, that the horrors have only just begun.

---

The only sign of light surrounding the island is that from the moon up in the midnight sky. There was a light current within the water, and the sand grains blew gently in the wind. There was a dim light from one cave nearby, but it was soon blocked, by an oncoming shadow. The pointed ears have already determined it, as well as a second figure right behind it. They came closer into the light, and eventually their torsos were in the light of the glow in the cavern. They have been easily recognised, as Gol and Maia, the latter dripping in seawater.  
"So it looks like they have found out our plans, eh?" growled Gol. "Well I don't want to let them find out anything more."  
"Well if that's the case, exactly how will we block them from their quest? It seems difficult…"  
"Nonsense! All we do is fit a major roadblock on their path, and they'll never escape from it alive."  
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear! But… how exactly are we going to do all that?"  
"Leave everything to the master. This will be nothing more than a small piece of cake."  
The two left the cave, and a few seconds later, they return with a few blocks of wood in possession. Carefully, they sneaked inside the cave. As soon as they stepped inside, they saw our heroes, on the floor fast asleep. So they brought their feet up so that they're only standing on their toes, and tiptoed over to a glowing fire. Gol immediately turned back to his sister.  
"OK Maia, now's our chance! Get ready to lay the whole track down, one block at a time!"  
She gave in the thumbs up, and they started to lay a straight line of planks from the fire and going right across the floor. Cautiously and carefully, they laid the ends on top of each other. But during the layout, Maia did something wrong. Her foot was pressed hard on top of Daxter's long tail.  
"Uh-oh…" she blinked.  
She looked back, and saw her foot's situation, but… there was no response. Carefully, she lifted her foot away from him, and continued with the layout. At almost no time at all, they reached the entrance of the cave.  
"OK, now for the final phrase! And Maia, just make sure you get it right this time, for Eco's sake!"  
"Yes bro!"  
They stacked the rest of the planks in a tower blocking the cave. Cautiously, they placed them on top of one another, until the whole entrance was blocked.  
"Okay, any minute now this route will go on fire", smiled Gol. "And that is one hazard already blocked from our plans!"  
"Yes surree! Now, where did you put the other villagers?"  
"I have a strange feeling that they're somewhere near the other side of the island, but I'm not sure about it…"  
"Don't panic, we'll go find them. And then we'll use them to start a plague like no other."  
They both sneaked back into the shadows, and just as they left, a small ember came through a hole in the planks. Then came two at a time, then many more kept on coming. Back inside the cave, the path in the middle of the floor was already set alight, and was heading right towards the roadblock. A few embers came onto Olga's tail, who ended up waking with a start.  
"OW! It's too hot here! Where's the air conditioner? I can't take the heat!"  
She started pacing up and down the room, trying to flap her wings to cool herself off, but all that ever did was increase the speed of the raging fire. She then resorted to squawking at the top of her voice, and that soon got everyone up.  
"Ugh, will you just quieten down for once?" muttered Daxter. "We needed our beauty sleep over here…"  
"No time for that now! This very cave is on fire here! I wanna get out!"  
Kiera brought her attention to the scene around her, most especially the burning wood in the room. "OK, who set the planks at the middle of the floor?"  
"It wasn't me!" the others exclaimed together.  
"I know", she frowned.  
"I think we should start figuring something like that out as soon as we can find a way out of this fire hazard", panicked Jak.  
"That's exactly what I was thinking", Bubba growled silently.  
The fire soon reached the tower, and within a few seconds, all was caught alight, blocking the whole entrance.  
"Oh great, now we're trapped under the deadly pressures of heat!" exclaimed Daxter. "Can anyone be willing enough to help us get out?"  
"Wish the tide would come over here and put the flames out", frowned Yolanda.  
"I know, but elsewhere I don't think there are any more ideas out there", Jak sighed in return.  
"Oh great, now it seems that we're gonna struggle to escape from here now!" Yolanda said while sending her fist into a nearby wall.  
"Don't panic, we'll find a way out!" Jak shouted with optimism. "I guarantee it."  
A cloud of smog emerged from a cave in flames, as they escaped into the sky. Speaking of escaping, that was not the case for Jak and the others. The flames continued to rise to the ceiling, and much larger rocks hurled down to the floor. A heavy amount of smoke spanned the room so much it was too difficult to see anyone in there. In no time, the six of them were soon seen coughing like there's no tomorrow, some of which suffering from great obscurity.  
"This horrible smoke…" Olga spluttered among the substance. "We're all gonna die from it! Looks like it's over!"  
"It's not over, you mad bird!" Yolanda smiled. "I'm sure we can all escape; you have to believe in me!"  
"Why should we?" Daxter shouted. "I'm now a smoke shrouded burger on a singing barbecue cooker!"  
"Hey Dax, consider yourself the fortunate one, because I'm burning right down to the ashes!" Bubba exclaimed.  
"Everyone, just calm down!" Jak smiled confidently. "Take in Yolanda's words! We can make it out of here, trust us!"  
In another corner, Keira covered her lipstick-ridden mouth and small nose with her hand, and her skin colour looked so pale she had to crouch down onto her weedy-looking kneecaps. Her glimmering eyes moved frantically around the room, as she continued to focus on her search for an exit. Time slowly ticked away, and her eyes started to pour with tears of pain, gradually getting larger. It wasn't until a whole minute later, when her eyes froze.  
"Hey everyone! Come over here, quick! I think I found a way to get out of this mess!"  
They all turned in her direction, and saw her looking at a microscopic hole in the wall. A small beam of light was shining down onto the floor beneath them. And within no time at all, they all turned back at her with a 'what is that, you stupid girl' look right across their faces.  
"Keira, I don't think that would work", nodded Yolanda. "Not even Daxter can fit through there, honestly."  
"No, just look at it! The wall looks so brittle that we can break it and get outta here!"  
"What, with my weak limbs?" Olga said while spreading out her wings. "They can't even hurt a fly! You're one sick girl, Ki."  
"No she's not! I believed in her on the long quest to Gol's citadel, and she was a guiding angel on my journey there", smiled Jak.  
"Uh, Earth to Jak", growled Daxter with an angry expression, "there was more than one living creature on this quest, you know."  
"Jak's right!" Bubba beamed with optimism. "We'll be able to break down the wall, if we all work together on this thing!"  
"Okay, let's finish this", he commanded.  
They all stood in a horizontal line facing the wall, and they looked on at its brittle structure.  
"Right, when I say 'Now', we all charge into the wall at the same time. That should bring it down a bit."  
A few seconds passed, and within no time at all… Jak stood bravely than he ever did before, and called out.  
"NOW!"  
The whole group charged up to the wall, with different poses as they made their run. Jak continuously performed his spinning kick, Daxter brought out a long paw for a flying kick, Bubba extended his fists back as he ran on three paws, Yolanda charged herself as a glow of red eco started to surround her, Olga jumped up and launched her legs forward, and Keira had her arms in shape for a simple push. As they all collided into the wall, it crumbled as their force slammed down onto it. The moonlight shone into their faces as they stepped out into the open air.  
"Whew", smiled Daxter. "In the words of Martin Luther King, 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty; we are free at last!'"  
"That's the spirit!" smiled Yolanda with a joyful look. "I knew from the start that we would escape with ease, thank you all!"  
"Sorry about all that", Olga blushed. "I thought we were all gonners! Freedom's ours again!"  
"And it's gonna be that way for a while", smiled Bubba. "Anyhow, let's focus back on the main question developing in my mind as soon as the fire was set alight - who trapped us in the fire?"  
Everyone started to exchange peculiar glances at each other, until there was a possible answer.  
"I hate to look stupid on this one," sighed Jak, "but I have a peculiar feeling that Gol and Maia are still alive."  
"How can you tell, Jak?" Keira asked. "You guys said that you saw Maia being eaten alive by the sharks on the coastline, and you buried Gol alive inside a cave on the other side of the island."  
"But what if they escaped and survived? That's the only problem I have."  
They both sat pondering for a while, until a light was seen ahead of them - a shining purple light.  
"Is it me or has someone just invented violet eco?" Daxter asked with his eyes reflecting the light.  
"No Daxter, it's not. I haven't seen it before. We should check it out", smiled Olga.  
"Good idea", Yolanda nodded.  
They both started climbing over cliff tops, heading in the direction of the light. But little will they know is that they will be expecting an unexpected surprise upon their arrival…

-end of part 3-


	4. The Fate of Sandover?

A dark violet storm cloud soon erupted up into the sky, with flashes of thunder every few seconds. Standing directly underneath them was a couple of shadows, both of which with an increasing glow of deep crimson surrounding them. Nearby were a line of other figures - the Mayor of Sandover Village, the Fisherman, and Jak's uncle among many, all of which tied up to a rock with a single thread of rope. The light soon started to become clearer around the shadows, and now they were shown in full figure… as Gol and Maia.  
"Unsuspecting citizens of Sandover," Gol shouted, "get ready for a thrill that will blow your life away!"  
"Ah yeah, go for it bro, I think that this is the right time to get this show on the road!"  
In his hands, an orb of energy started to form around it. It almost looked like a Power Cell, but darker in colour and slightly misshapen. He hurled it at the Mayor, who was struggling with all his might to break free. And then, it made contact with his body. His cramped furious facial expression suddenly started to pull apart. His mouth started to form a small straight line across his face, and it dipped a couple of centimetres below the eyes, taking the nose with it. The hair on his moustache and on his head withered like they were a dead plant. And within time, his skin colour changed to a very pale shade of white.  
"Yes, that's it, absolutely wonderful, now bring back the glorious life energy", he smirked with a sinister laugh escaping.  
The same orb seeped out from the torso, and hovered above Gol's hand. It now glimmered with a bright shade of turquoise. In an instant, he slipped it inside his front pockets.  
"Brilliant, I can feel the energy inside!" Gol smiled.  
"Superb stuff!" chanted Maia. "I knew I could count on you!"  
"However, there's still a little bit more that I need to earn from these sand-shopping losers here."  
From his hands, several more dark orbs seeped out, and they seeped into the other citizens. One by one they came out shining light turquoise, leaving the hostages pale and 'zombified'. They all came towards Gol, who managed to catch them all and stuff them inside his pockets.  
"I think we've got enough energy for today, until we start to raise havoc upon the world", nodded Gol.  
"That's the spirit, brother! Now…"  
"STOP!" shouted an interrupting voice.  
They both turned in the direction of the voice. Standing nearby were six other shadowed figures, all looking different from each other. They both looked on at them with suspicious eyes on them. Finally, three of the figures emerged from the darkness - Jak, Bubba and Yolanda.  
"What in Pete's sake do you think you're doin'?" Bubba growled at them.  
"Ah, nothing much, just…" Gol snickered at this stage, "gathering life energy."  
"Oh come on, what's the point of doing such things like that?" sighed Yolanda. "You've already got lots of life energy in you beforehand, why do you need more?"  
"You just don't understand what we want to do with them, don't you?" Maia asked with a bitter tone.  
"Of course I understand!" Jak fought back. "You placed Keira under your control with the Dark Eco! You took her life energy! And now, we've got her back!"  
"Eh…" Gol started blushing. "No wonder what happened to the ball of energy that flew out of my pockets last night!"  
Furthermore, the remaining three figures stood out, showing themselves, as Daxter, Olga and Keira.  
"Gol, you are so gonna get it when Jak and the others are through with you!" shouted Keira.  
"Shut your mouth girly", sighed Maia. "We have all the power we need for our Ultimate Plan!"  
"How 'ultimate' eh?" Olga sighed, rolling her eyes. "Your plans never worked last time, and they still won't now."  
"This is where the science comes in, you weedy flut-flut", snickered Gol. "With this energy, I will be able to rule over everything. But the first task it does is one of the most devastating moments of life."  
"Lemme take a smart guess at this one", Daxter said while folding his arms. "You hanging your mother's briefs up on a Sunday afternoon."  
"Actually, we have something else in mind", Maia nodded.  
The turquoise orbs rose out from Gol's pockets, and formed a bright circle. They started to spin in motion with each other, eventually forming a bright white ring surrounding the area. Then it sent sparks around the area, flashing at several points around the island. And then… it came to a slight pause. They looked up at the ring, but no sooner than they did so… the island started to shake.  
"It's WORKING!!!!" Maia shouted.  
"Oh my God!" Daxter exclaimed. "What's happening to the floor?"  
"Calm down, whatever you do, don't move a muscle!" Yolanda commanded.  
"This looks too scary", Olga started to cry. "I wanna fly off the isle! I wish I was home!"  
"Relax kid", nodded Bubba. "We'll figure out what on Earth this ring is doing sooner or later…"  
There was a crack.  
"Oh crikey, now what?" Keira squealed.  
"Just stand still Keira", said Jak in a soothing tone. "I'll be by your side."  
On the shores of the island, a few cracks appeared around the beach, sending a light sandstorm around the area. The cracks continued round the perimeter of the beach, and when they finally met up at the other side of the island… there was a push. Within no time at all, the island elevated from its position a few hundred feet into the air, adjoining the clouds. Misty Island is now… a floating island. Clouds started to soar above our six heroes, and our couple of villians, and the hostages taken in, until they started to dip down and around them, surrounding them like a misty fog. A cold breeze started to swing around them. And then, they started to dip below them. The sun started to dip slightly down at them, but it soon stopped. They all looked down, and saw Misty Island, escalated a few thousand feet into the air. Olga had a facial expression filled with terror, but no different to Yolanda, whom started to tremble from her position. Soon, they all turned around, and stepped towards Gol and Maia, ready to confront each other face to face. The evil siblings were of no expression - they were ready for what they seem to do best.  
"Stupid question time", sighed Daxter. "Exactly why did you bring the island a few thousand feet into the air?"  
"That's one thing that you will never understand", growled Gol. "With the life force of the citizens of Sandover, I used their energy to bring the Island up to its peak."  
"He said why, not what you just did", muttered Bubba.  
"Let me have a try for once", sighed Maia as he pushed Gol to the floor. "Gol's not good with words."  
"HEY!" he shouted back.  
"Besides, didn't you forget the grenade launcher on top of the Dark Eco temple?"  
She points at the gun, which now stood a few yards to her right. They all looked at it for a few seconds... and Daxter and Bubba fell about laughing.  
"What do you think is so funny?" she asked them.  
Keira gave out a sigh towards Maia. "Get over it, I don't think that thing can shoot anyhow. There were no more bullets the last time I came to the island for a spot of cleaning."  
"Stupid girl, you're forgetting something, aren't you?" Gol sighed. "Take a look down the side of the gun."  
And so they all did, one at a time. They all lowered their heads down to the Dark Eco pool below them, and saw... a pipe. A metallic pipe. It was stuck inside the ooze, and was hissing off steam. It was connected to other pipes, escalating high up the side of the temple, until it reached the top. Another machine stood next to it. Olga went out to touch it, but as soon as she let go, she blew into the tip of her wing, and started shaking it about.  
"This machine's too cold! Eco doesn't work like that! Not in this coolness", said Olga as she shook her head.  
"Think again, bird brain", snickered Gol.  
At the end of the second machine, a clear plastic pipe was seen linking that and the gun together. It was now seen from a strange perspective - Dark Eco was being poured into the gun.  
Jak gave out a sigh. "Gol, you... you... Fiend!"  
"He's not the fiend around here, you are!" Maia shouted while pointing her finger towards Jak and the others. You and all the other miserable civilians in this dimwit-looking world-"  
"I know what you guys want to do with that machine anyhow!" sighed Yolanda. "You plan to spray it all over the world, making them fall to your every command! That's even worse than a cheesy novel, a mankey toothbrush and a rainbow-colored scout fly in one place."  
The two villains looked at each other again, only this time they were blushing, and there were huge anime sweat drops on the side of their faces.  
"That's it!" Gol shouted with anger. "I don't care about your opinions. It's others that count, and they will agree once I'm through with them."  
"Quick guys, run out of here and come back with anything useful you can find!" shouted Jak as he mounted Olga. "Olga and I will guard the machine."  
"Yeah, ride 'em cowboy!" she giggled to herself. "This is gonna be so fun! Bye bye evil dorks!"  
A few moments of tension arrived between two teams on a sky high Misty Island. Thunder flashed right underneath it, and the shining of the sun above them was eliminated down on the good and the evil - good, represented by Jak riding on Olga, and evil, represented by Gol and Maia charging right towards them. The world's destiny is in their hands.  
"Olga, jump!" Jak commanded her.  
The flut-flut performed a high bound leap over the evil siblings, eclipsing right over them. As soon as they touched down, they made a run for a few paces, and turned back around.  
"So", Gol started as he turned around towards them. "You think you can get away with it that easily, huh?"  
"Not if I can help, you two-faced dark-hearted scum!" growled Olga. "This war will end now!"  
They made another charge towards them, and this time both siblings made a jump, up into the air, hoping to land on top of our heroes. Without hesitation, Olga brought out one of her clawed feet, and scratched their chests, and then used the claws to toss them overhead. Jak held onto her back as tight as he could, and as she stood upright again, he shuffled up a bit.  
"If that's the best you can do, you haven't faced our power yet!" sighed Maia.  
"Power?" Jak said with his ears twitching. "In what way?"  
"You never heard of Dark Eco magic, haven't you?" Gol replied with a sneer.  
Both of them stared at each other blankly, as Maia sneaked over to the machine, opened the fuel compartment, and rubbed her hands in Dark Eco. An eerie purple glow started to surround her at this point. Quickly, she turned back to face the two of them.  
"I hope you've written your wills", smiled Maia, "because you will be gone before-  
"Jak, you got a pen?" Olga asked him. "Or paper for that matter? I ain't wrote mine yet!"  
Gol fell over behind them, with an anime sweat drop on his face. But while this happened, a charge occurred in Maia's right fist. There was nowhere to escape from this attack... it was almost like they were doomed, until... a shot of Yellow Eco hit her from behind.  
"What?!? Who did this?!?" shouted Maia.  
She turned around... to see Keira, Daxter, Bubba and Yolanda, all charged up with Green, Blue, Red and Yellow eco respectively.  
"Quick guys!" commanded Keira. "I'll restore health to the citizens, Bubba can help Jak and Olga, and Daxter and Yolanda can take on Gol. Let's go!"  
"Yeah!" the others cheered in unison.  
"Not so fast, you muck-infested morons!!!" Gol shouted with anger. "I'll-"  
It was too late. They were gone in a flash. As he turned around, he saw Daxter, using the Blue Eco to run around Gol. His light violet skin started to turn a deep shade of red, and he started to chase him. At the same time, Yolanda attempted to fire Yellow Eco onto him. Only a few shots out of hundreds missed. Bubba immediately made a counterattack onto Maia, and with the power of Red Eco he started punching her down to a pulp. She started to get dizzy, while he landed and brought his fist out once again.  
"One more for the count?" Bubba shouted with pride.  
"Go for it!" Jak commanded him.  
He brought his fist back a bit more, and with a glow of rage in it, he punched Maia down to the floor unconscious. She is now seen with a bloody nose, a bruise on her cheek, a black eye, and a tooth missing. They then raced over to Gol, ready for cornering him, but...  
"Get away, all of you!"  
He then performed a high jump over the group, and made a dash towards the gun. He took his place on a seat on the machine, and aimed the cursor above it down on the world below.  
"Yeeeeeees, sooner or later this planet will see a world like no tomorrow!" He then followed with a sinister laugh.  
"I don't think so!" Jak sighed.  
He picked a rock up, and rode towards the gun, which was starting to charge with energy. He came close enough to the nozzle, and without hesitation he tossed the rock in it, and quickly rode back to the others. Back there, Bubba kicked Maia over to Gol's side.  
"What's happening?" Gol sighed angrily. "WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?!?!?" He then paused with anger. "ALL RIGHT!!!! You may have won this round, but you haven't seen the last of-"  
Before they could finish, An explosion of Dark Eco sent both of them skyward. Then when they came hurling back down... they went zooming past the island, and hurling down to their own citadel below. The Dark Eco storage area opened once more, and they fell right into it. It closed shut before them, and it gave off specks of white energy. From there, came a hurling ball of white, coming right towards the island. It landed on the site of the gun, and glimmered with all its might.  
"Is that... is that what I think it is?" Daxter asked.  
"I think it is... White Eco!" Yolanda said with an amazed tone.  
"Hey, wasn't that the stuff that we used to stop Gol and Maia last time?" Jak asked Daxter.  
"Of course it was, it ain't rocket science", he replied while folding his arms.  
"I think I can sense something in this thing!" Bubba shouted.  
"What is it?" Keira asked him.  
"It seems like the ball wants to congratulate us by turning one of us back to what we were before... but how are we gonna do that? There's three of us, and them braindead fogeys over there!"  
"Bubba, I already turned them back", smiled Keira.  
She pointed at them, and they all looked back at the citizens of Sandover Village (minus Samos and Oracle, of course), cheering on for them.  
Bubba was left to blush before looking on at the others. "It'll be tough for us all, I mean, one of us needs to turn back to what they were before... but who?"  
"I think I have a solution", smiled Yolanda.  
She placed her left hand into a pocket in her jacket, and pulled out what looked like a dice, but with colored sides.  
"This is my chance dice. It's got three colors scattered across its six sides - red, blue and yellow. We will use this to determine the outcome of this event."  
"I hope I don't get any girly colors", sighed Daxter.  
"If it's red, it's Bubba. If it's blue, it's Olga. And if it's yellow, it's Daxter."  
"Just what I thought, why ain't there an orange side? Colors like that are for the dumps!"  
"Daxter, stop complaining and let's get on with it."  
She rolled the dice across the ground. It continued to roll several times, and the three of them watched on as it slowly begin to stop rolling. The outcome was soon to be decided.

---

Sunrise once again shone over Sandover Village, but it soon caused an eclipse over a small hut nearby. From the Green Sage's hut, Keira and Samos went in that direction, and headed inside. They were welcomed to a small hut, which is still in the need for a springclean. Jak was there, sitting on a half-made matress. Standing nearby were Yolanda, and the Red Sage. The mayor, Jak's uncle the explorer, and the fisherman were standing by the window. They were all facing a closet door opposite one of the windows.  
"How long has it been?" Keira asked.  
"Probably... um..." Jak brought his eyes to the ceiling. "A couple of hours."  
"Uh, even though I don't really like the appearance on the outside, there is still a hint of strength on the inside, so why get rid of that with it?" blinked the Red Sage.  
"I have a feeling that it's a dream that has been seeked for from the start, father", nodded Yolanda. "Nothing special."  
The door opened in front of them, and three shadows came. Two of which were wearing what looked like craft outfits, and the third was an altered figure. The first two came into the light, and showed themselves, as Daxter and Olga, still in their otzel and flut-flut forms.  
"Hey Jak! Have you been drinking my Crabozade again?" growled Daxter.  
"No I haven't, why?"  
"He almost fainted!" Olga exclaimed. "Dehydration came to him! The can was empty..."  
"Sorry about that, I wanted to take a bit of an in-op refreshment", said a voice.  
They turned in the shadows, showing the altered figure. As he came up into the light, he showed himself, as Bubba. A difference was spread... in the colour of his fur. His fur was changed back to the purple colour it was before.  
"Sorry Daxter", he sighed.  
"It's OK man, why didn't you tell me you were thirsty?"  
"I felt too excited to think."  
"So, ever since you've returned the civilians home again, and helped a lost soul", smiled the Mayor with a joyful expression, "what will you be doing in the future?"  
"I hope to return to my detective profession once again", nodded the Lurker. "And hopefully none of them should freak out now. But even with Gol and Maia gone, I still feel that there are some evils remaining in this world."  
"Olga and I will head back to Volcanic Crater", followed Yolanda.  
"Yeah, that's what we'll do", giggled Olga. "I love being a flut-flut! I'm more useful now."  
"I'm glad you said that", replied the explorer. "Hey, I'm thinking of going to camp there sometime, and in the daytime I'll catch some real arachnids in Spider Cave and breed them back home."  
"Sure, as long as you don't give any to me... ick!" Daxter screamed with shock.  
"Uncle, if you know about one of the remaining Power Cells" Jak said while referring back to the gate problem at the start, "please tell me about it. We're a little stuck."  
"All I can say is that you've got plenty of precursor orbs for the job", smiled the fisherman.  
"What in Pete's sake does that mean?" Jak asked him.  
"You'll see", Jak's uncle chuckled.

---

On a nearby cliffside on the shores, both Jak and Daxter were sitting down, hugging their knees, and in Daxter's case, drooping the tail over the cliff. They were watching Yolanda, Olga and the Red Sage head up the steep cliffs towards Fire Canyon. Bubba was running behind them. As they slowly make it up to the top, they took one last glance at the two of them, and waved at them. They waved back. And before they knew it... they were gone.  
"It was really nice helping others for a change", said Jak in a sweet tone."  
"Yeah, and I was so close from bagging a girlfriend too!" Daxter growled. "Anyhow, it's time we went back to the Power Cell collecting."  
"I wonder what my uncle meant when he said we've got plenty of precursor orbs for earning the last few?"  
"Hmmm..." Daxter started to ponder.  
He placed a hand over his chin, and took random glances around the area. And at one time... he made a swift turn straight to his right. Oracle stood by, with a couple of shining Power Cells in its eyes.  
"Jak, I think we've got a solution!"

-fin-

---

_Jak and Daxter and all related characters are © to Naughty Dog 2001-2002. Yolanda, Bubba and Olga are © to RexRock 2002. All rights reserved_


End file.
